Fertility Touchy Subject As Women Wait Longer To Have Kids

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) — Having a baby isn’t always easy for couples, and fertility can be a sensitive topic.

But with more women waiting to have children later in life, it’s a subject doctors say they can’t avoid.

It’s estimated one in five women wait until they are 35 or older to have their first baby. So more doctors are bringing up the delicate subject of fertility, letting them know that time won’t always be on their side.

“There is no question that fertility decreases with age,” said Dr. Adam Romoff of Lennox Hill Hospital in New York. “Think it’s kind of gradual between 35 and 38, and it starts to go down rapidly between 38 and 42.”

Doctors are also making women aware that pregnancy complications also increase with age — things like high blood pressure and diabetes.